3.2.5  Discharges from the vagina

Show is the name given to the blood-stained mucus seen in early labour. Towards the end of the first stage a trickle of blood may appear. Amniotic fluid may be seen trickling from the vagina after the membranes have ruptured. The presence of mechonium (mechonium is pronounced ‘mee-koh-nee-um’). Mechonium (dark-green coloured discharge, which is the first stool of the baby) in the amniotic fluid suggests fetal distress as it does not normally pass stool until after the birth. Later in this Module, you will learn what actions to take if the fetus or the mother is endangered.